1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interior component for a vehicle and to a method of mounting an interior component for a vehicle.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-234649, filed Sep. 10, 2007, Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-234664, filed Sep. 10, 2007, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-234665, filed Sep. 10, 2007, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
A curtain airbag apparatus has been developed that causes an airbag to unfold between a vehicle side wall and a vehicle occupant when the vehicle is in a collision.
In this curtain airbag apparatus, the airbag is housed in a folded state extending from a front pillar portion across a roof side portion as far as a rear pillar portion. When a shock is input, the airbag is unfolded by being blown up with high pressure gas from an inflator. While in a folded state, the airbag is covered on the vehicle compartment interior side by a pillar garnish and a roof lining. When a shock is input, the airbag pushes open a portion of the pillar garnish and the roof lining using thrust force from the high pressure gas.
The airbag of this curtain airbag apparatus is normally placed within a range covering the entire roof side rail portion and portions of both the front pillar portion and the rear pillar portion. Because of this, in each pillar portion, a portion in the direction in which the pillar garnish extends is partially pushed open. As a result, when the airbag is unfolded by the pillar portion, the airbag which is about to be unfold receives considerable resistance from the pillar garnish, and it becomes difficult to control the attitude in which the airbag unfolds.
Consequently, in order to deal with this problem, a structure has been proposed for a pillar garnish in which a thin breakable portion is formed in the pillar garnish. When the airbag is unfolded, the pillar garnish is broken at this breakable portion (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2000-335358).
In this pillar garnish structure, unnecessary increase in the unfolding resistance of this airbag is reduced by forming this thin breakable portion in advance in the pillar garnish. However, there is a concern that manufacturing the pillar garnish will become more complex, and that this will lead to an increase in manufacturing costs.
Accordingly, research has been done into constructing interior components of pillar garnish and the like from a plurality of components that are butted together end-to-end. When the airbag is unfolded or the like, an end of one component is opened in the vicinity of a boundary portion.
However, if a structure is employed in which the ends of a plurality of interior components are butted together, because interior components are generally made from materials having a low rigidity, it is difficult to maintain sufficient tension of interior component, and it is also difficult to ensure an accurate fit between the ends of the interior components.
Moreover, in the above-described conventional pillar garnish structure, a thin, breakable portion is formed that breaks easily when the air bag is unfolded. In this case, the breakable portion can be easily broken when the pillar garnish is being mounted on the vehicle body, and when the pillar garnish is being transported prior to being mounted on the vehicle body, and the like, and the increased difficulty in handling is a cause for concern.
Moreover, in the above-described conventional interior component mounting structure, the pillar garnish and the roof lining are mounted individually on a fixing portion on the vehicle body. Because of this, the pillar garnish and the roof lining are generally made from materials having a low rigidity, and it is difficult to ensure an accurate fit between the pillar garnish and the roof lining.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an interior component for a vehicle which has sufficient tension and that makes it possible for the fitting accuracy to be improved.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an interior component for a vehicle that does not hamper the ease of handling when it is being mounted on a vehicle body or when it is being transported prior to being mounted on the vehicle body, and that reduces unnecessary increase in the unfolding resistance of the airbag.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of mounting an interior component for a vehicle that makes it possible for the fitting accuracy between a pillar garnish and a roof lining to be improved.